SYDNEY, December 11. /TASS/. Approximately 25 Australian citizens have been issued visas for foreigners who align with Russian moral and spiritual values during the first three months since the Russian president’s decree came into force, Russia’s Consul General in Australia, Zarina Gabiyeva, told TASS.
According to her, the new visa, which facilitates relocation to Russia, is being sought by individuals, including families with children, who oppose Western values. "It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that the decree of President [of Russia Vladimir Putin] on providing humanitarian support to individuals who embrace Russian traditional spiritual and moral values, issued on August 19, 2024, has sparked interest among Australians. This is particularly evident from the number of applications submitted by local residents considering or already planning to move to Russia," the consul general stated.
She further noted that Russian diplomats "personally engage with each applicant," and that all of them had cited "strong opposition to and outright rejection of the aggressive promotion by local authorities of radical ideological stances that distort the younger generation's understanding of genuine family and moral values" as their primary motivation for this decision.
"Since Decree No. 702 took effect [on September 1 this year], 25 individuals have already formalized their plans to relocate to our country. These applicants have been granted visas allowing them to apply to the Russian Interior Ministry for a temporary residence permit under a streamlined process. Specifically, this bypasses the government-approved quota system and eliminates the requirement to prove proficiency in Russian, knowledge of Russian history, and familiarity with its laws," the diplomat elaborated.
The consul general also emphasized that, while the number of visas issued to Australians relocating to Russia "may appear modest, for a nation as geographically distant from Russia as Australia, this represents a very encouraging outcome." "This is just the start of a long journey, and I am confident that the upcoming year will yield even greater results in this regard. Meanwhile, we will continue to raise awareness and provide every possible form of assistance to those who wish to ‘preserve themselves’ as proponents of traditional values, which President Vladimir Putin has described as the foundation of our society and way of life," the consul general concluded.
Putin’s decree
The decree signed by Putin establishes a preferential framework for resettlement to Russia for those who reject Western values. According to the Russian president, the document was drafted in response to the growing number of applications from various countries, including cultural figures and ordinary citizens. While addressing the St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum on September 12, Putin remarked that politicians in several nations have abandoned moral principles, leading their citizens to gradually accept xenophobia and, ultimately, extreme forms of discrimination.